


Prejudice

by incorrectbatfam



Series: Bluepulse Week 2020 [4]
Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Bluepulse Week 2020, Established Relationship, LGBTQ Themes, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24905167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incorrectbatfam/pseuds/incorrectbatfam
Summary: There always has to be someone who ruins Pride.(Bluepulse Week 2020 – Day 4: Pride)
Relationships: Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Series: Bluepulse Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798045
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	Prejudice

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [I Don't Want To Understand](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14479752) by [cruisinforarubberman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruisinforarubberman/pseuds/cruisinforarubberman). 



> Thank you to @bisexualoftheblade for the beta

“Bart, stop!  _ No me hagas llamar a Barry! _ ”

Jaime struggled to keep a grip on his boyfriend, arms wrapped tightly as the younger one tried to squirm his way out, shouting expletives at a man who was twice his size.

“He’s a bigot!” Bart shouted. “Let me at ‘em, Blue!”

“No!” the older one exclaimed. “I’m not letting you fight him!” 

The man—built like a brick wall with hands the size of their faces, donning military-style camouflage and heavy working boots—said, “Your boyfriend’s right, ya little punk. Plus, I can’t be a bigot, I’m gay too.”

“BULLSHIT!”

Jaime didn’t want to regret Bart’s first Pride festival, but the speedster and the civilians alike were making it extremely difficult.

It started innocently enough.

(Not really, but Jaime wanted to think otherwise.)

A lady approached Bart, asking for directions. She was short and stout in her thirties with electric green hair that contrasted her pale skin, and she fumbled as she unfolded a large area map.

She said, “Do you know how to get to the drag show? I’m not from here so I’m completely lost.”

“I’m not from here either,” Bart answered, “but he is.”

The lady raised an eyebrow, surprised, as he threw an arm around his boyfriend. 

“Oh, well, can you tell me how to get there?” 

“Yeah, just go down about three blocks and take a left at the fountain. It should be on the right-hand side next to the ticket booth.”

“Cool!” She turned to Bart and said, “Don’t let this one go, he’s a real articulate fella.”

Jaime couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

Then there were the food trucks.

“What can I get you?” the worker asked Bart.

“Uh...I’ll get two funnel cakes, a cotton candy, four hot dogs, and a bucket of cheese curds,” the speedster said. 

The employee jotted the order down before looking at Jaime, asking, “And him?”

Bart motioned for Jaime to answer.

“Just a corn on the cob,” he said. “And a bottle of water.”

“That’ll be $23.80.”

As usual, Jaime reached for his wallet, but was interrupted by the worker who pointed at one of the brightly colored signs posted on the side of the truck.

“It says to pay at the next register. Comprendo?” they sneered.

“Alright, alright, sorry, didn’t see the sign,” Jaime muttered, ignoring the weird look Bart sent him, dragging them both to the next window.

The tipping point was at the picnic tables.

Bart had secured them an empty spot—an honest to god miracle with how many people were there. Fried treats and sugary drinks covered half the surface—most being Bart’s, of course. The other half was occupied by a group of teenage girls, all chatting as they scrolled through their phones. Their end of the table was weighed down with as many purses and makeup pouches as bags of Chicken Whizzies the boys bought. 

“Here you go,  _ cariño _ ,” Jaime said, setting down two plastic cups. “Two authentic Mexican horchatas. Without dairy, ‘cause that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

“Crash!” 

Bart dove to take it in his hands. Well, one hand. The other hand laced with Jaime’s fingers, sending a jolt up the older one’s spine. They could be boyfriends for a hundred years and Jaime would still blush like he did right then.

He wouldn’t have noticed the girls pointedly moving their things away if Bart didn’t say anything.

“Dude, what’s with that?” he asked. “People have been acting weird all day. It’s seriously moding me out.”

Jaime sighed. “ _ Ese _ , this happens all the time.”

“What do you mean?”

Jaime paused, trying to think of the best way to explain.

“Bart,” he said, “do you know what a microaggression is?”

The younger one looked at him, head tilted, replying, “Is it when someone’s short and angry, like Tim’s brother?”

Jaime chuckled. “No. Not sure if you have this in the future, but essentially it’s discrimination, but not to the levels of violence or hate crime. It’s like…” he wiggled his fingers, trying to think of an example. “It’s like the other day when Hal asked us who wears the pants in our relationship.”

“Uh, yeah,” Bart scoffed. “Not crash. But he apologized for that.”

“And it’s good that he did,” Jaime said, “but he’s not the only one. Most folks do it without realizing and it happens to a lotta people. Women, disabled people, queer people, and...” he gestured to himself.

“That’s not fair!” the speedster exclaimed. “You didn’t do anything to anyone. You’re the nicest guy I know. It’s what I love about you.”

“ _ También te amo _ ,” he said, “but some people make snap judgments based on how I look. They think I’m dangerous.”

Bart snorted. “Trust me, I know danger, and you ain’t it.” He ran his thumb over Jaime’s knuckles. “It’s so moded, though. Out of everyone, people at Pride should know better than to discriminate.”

It was then that a man passing by overheard them. He stopped and said, “No one’s a bigot, kid. We’re all here and we’re all queer.”

Bart glowered at the man. “We were talking about how certain folks here are a bunch of racists.”

The guy, twice as large as either boy, held up his hands. “Hey now, I’m sure that’s not the case. There’s only one race after all, and that’s the human race.”

Jaime mumbled something under his breath in Spanish, wondering how in nine hells he got himself into this situation.

“Hey, speak English at least,” the man said.

“What did you just say?” Bart demanded.

“ _ Cariño _ , it’s fine,” the older teen said, taking his boyfriend’s elbow.

“No, it’s not,” Bart replied. He jabbed his finger towards the man’s chest. “You’re gonna apologize for that.”

The towering tank slapped Bart’s hand away like a mosquito, looking annoyed. “And if I don’t?”

A growl rose from Bart’s throat and if it weren’t for Khaji Da’s warning chirp, Jaime wouldn’t have been able to catch it in time. Bart lunged forward just as Jaime threw his arms around his angry chihuahua of a boyfriend.

Which brought them back to Bart cussing out a stranger and Jaime doing everything in his power to make sure the younger boy doesn’t get them into trouble. Bart continued to squirm and if they weren’t in public he would’ve extended a couple of the scarab’s tendrils with how difficult the speedster was being.

Jaime looked the gargantuan dead in the eye and said, “I can’t hold him forever. I’d get out of here if I were you.”

Thankfully, the guy had enough sense to listen and flee.

Jaime pulled Bart close and squeezed tightly until he calmed down and stopped moving. The speedster huffed, face still pink from screaming at the top of his lungs. It was adorable, even under the circumstances.

“This is so moded!” Bart complained. “No one deserves it. Especially not you.”

“I know,” he said. “Intersectionality is a tricky thing. People should understand ‘cause it’s an important part of our everyday lives, but in reality, not everyone’s as educated or as accepting as they should be.”

Bart crossed his arms. “What’s the point of Pride when not everyone’s included?”

Jaime placed a kiss on the younger boy’s temple.

“We’ll get there,  _ mi amor, _ ” he said. “‘Til then, my greatest pride is having you by my side.”


End file.
